June updated

June flew by this year. I painted some. Not nearly as much as I wanted to. Isn't that always the case? July is here now and I have 3 in the works. Which is good for my upcoming show in Berkeley.
Here's what I did manage to paint.

I also moved out of my studio. I paint more at home than I did there, and figured why spend $$ on rent when I can use that on art supplies???

I will be increasing my efforts to market better as well. Etsy, (see right), and ebay to clear out some old work, and then of course my usual Daily Paintworks uploads each time I make a new piece. 

so- JUNE:

Bridge 2012 oil on canvas 10x10

Brewery Gulch oil on panel 6x6

Bright Barn 10x10 oil on canvas

Spring in CA, and new opportunities

I have been so busy with other commitments I haven't been posting much. Now that school is almost done for the year I will have more time to spend painting and blogging.
the most recent paintings to date are below.

I love the light we get in Spring here in the Bay Area.

lately I am more concerned with color and light than actually structure. If that makes sense.
I went to see the Victorian show at the Legion of Honor the other day and it was so inspiring. All the Pre-Raphaelites using such control over the palette and the use of secondary colors like oranges and greens. I came back wanting to paint richer, and brighter.

I am moving out of my studio and am going to paint from home now. I hope this brings more paintings out of me. I am much happier painting at home. I have great light and a nice little nook to paint. The studio was getting to be too far, and too social for me! I'm a pretty solitary person when it comes to working. My studio bldg. was like a beehive of artists- which to many would be wonderful, but to me it was too much energy.

Almost forgot- I might get to show at a  new gallery in Berkeley. I am SO excited. I'll keep you posted.

peaches 6x6 oil on panel

cottages 6x6 oil on panel

blu dock

my latest- oil on panel. I like the vibrancy of the blue. I tired to go for smaller brushstrokes, really getting into the ripples of the water.

oil on panel 6x6 inches

February catch up

These are the rest of what I did in February. I am back to oil for good now. Sorry I ever doubted you, oil, I hope you will forgive me!  I am like an old dog - that can't learn new tricks. I gotta go with what I know. And l love it.

little ridge 8x8 on canvas

mendocino bay 8x10 on canvas

tiny house 2x2 canvas

Mendocino views

These two I have done as a happy remembrance of many visits to the Mendocino coast. I haven't painted rooftops like this since college when I painted my roof view from Berkeley to San Francisco.

Mendo Glow 8x8

Mendo Village and Bay

the glow and what I know

I am a painter. I have spent years developing my technique. I have been inspired by so many artists lately,  doing the daily painting thing, and admiring what they can do with paint. I have tried to emulate that ease and flow of the paint in a single session. I failed. So much so that I kind of lost my mojo so to speak. There are other factors too, like being a type 1 diabetic and having bad days with  my blood sugars, or being sick from the flu- those are bad painting days for sure. Little sleep, and emotional stress is also a deal breaker on the canvas for me. All of these things have been present the last couple of months and it has been a real struggle for me to get back to ME. What do I know? DO I have IT still? Did I ever have it?
Yesterday I was in the studio and I just let it go. I let go of what I thought I should do and just painted what I know how to do. I felt at home. It may not be my best work, but at least I felt back to me. Art to me is not a competition, but it can be so influential it is hard to stop wanting to do it all and just do what is natural to me. So, here is that:

cypress afternoon 8x8 oil on canvas

peppers

three peppers- all in their shininess, and waiting to be chopped into a big salad.

peppers 5x5 acrylic on canvas

more spring yellow

I like this daffodil close up. I let loose a bit and went with the flow. Literally! I let the flow of the paint and the linear flow take over. My fave of the three so far.

daffy 8x10 inches

these limes just called to me today. I didn't intend to use such a contrasting background color, but I like it.

limes acrylic on canvas 8x10 inches

Alaska on paper

I am taking my first cruise to Alaska in June. I thought I should familiarize myself with some upcoming sights, so i chose to paint a scene from the town of Ketchikan. I love the colorful nature of the bldgs. I look forward to seeing them in person soon!

Ketchikan acrylic on paper 8x7 inches

bicycle challenge

This was for Daily Paintworks challenge of the week.

The topic was wheels. The photo came out a bit grainy. I also kept the paint on the washy side, so that probably was part of it as well.

cruiser 7 x 5 inches acrylic on canvas

gerbera daisy arrangement

This is an acrylic I am happy with. Lots of paint!!! I was patient and let the underpainting dry before I went in for fine tuning. I think that is the way to go for me for now...

gerbera acrylic on canvas 8x8 inches

apple

I am going to use acrylics for a little bit to see what I can do with brushstrokes. I think oil is so slow in drying, and I realize after chatting with my friend Katy today that I do like to layer rather than use just one stroke. SO much to learn still! Loving art today though. Great studio day.

apple 5x5 inches acrylic on canvas

dandelions

Today I was bound and determined to paint something decent. I had a day yesterday where I felt I was no longer a painter. I had lost my mojo. I think I have been looking at other artists and admiring their styles so much that I tried to paint like them. doomed to fail. I remembered - finally- to paint like me. It's coming back now. slowly.
here's today's painting

dandelion 8x8 inches oil on canvas

slices

this one is on stretched canvas, which I am so much more partial to over the canvas boards. It took me a day and a half- so not quite a daily, but I'll count it anyway!!!

slices 12x12 oil on canvas

tangerines

tangerine 4x4 on panel email to purchase

Today I painted tangerines. Or- a tangerine. It was this week's challenge.
I am heading towards a looser, more painterly feel with my work. The challenge also got me to choose something out of the norm.

So, here's the first post on my new blog for 2012.

cheers to many, many more.